Land of Tears
The Land of Tears, formerly called the Land of Joy is a moderately sized country that is currently in the midst of a long civil war. The war, which occured due to a dispute regarding the successor of one of the country's lords, has been continuing for seventy three years. For this reason it has also been called the Land of Blood-shed. History The Land of Tears was originally known as the Land of Joy. It was a fairly strong and prosperous nation, and the county's Daimyos had a reputation for working diligently for the happiness and prosperity of their people. This would continue until the time of the Daimyo Kinjiro. Like all of his predecessors Kinjiro worked for the good of his people. He fathered twin sons named Saikon and Nobutora. Sadly one day Kinjiro fell deathly ill. Knowing that his time was limited he named Nobutora his successor, and then passed away shortly after. Normally this would have been a smooth transition, but since the brothers were twins neither could truly claim to be eldest, and Saikon believed that he was more fit to rule the country than his brother. Furthermore Saikon had a great deal of supporters in court. Tensions rose and eventually broke out into violence. Saikon and his followers were forced to flee the capital and settle in the eastern part of the country. There they raised their forces, and began to wage war on Nobutora's faction. The two brother both had more or less equal support by the country's court and people, and thus the war split the country right down the middle. The fighting was fierce, but neither side could truly gain victory. Saikon's forces were unable to take the capital and dethrone Nobutora, but Nobutora found crushing his brothers forces to be an equally fruitless prospect. The battle between the two brothers would outlive both of them, and the war would be inherited by their respective descendents. This would continue on into current times. Chigakure Chigakure (meaning the Village hidden in the Blood) is the ninja village of the Land of Tears. Originally the village was named due to the nobility of blood that composed it, having been founded by a number of old and prominent ninja clans. However since the war the village has started to be called such due to the number of lives it has taken in the war. Chigakure supports the descendents of Nobutora as the legitimate Daimyos of the Land of Tears, and are thus opposed to the rebel Saikon faction. This puts them in opposition to the Kurodaitai that are fighting on behalf og the Saikon faction. In the past the village was fairly strong by the standards of the ninja world. They were moderately sized, well funded and possessed a number of venerable clans with great jutsu. However the village has suffered under the constant warfare. While the Daimyo makes sure to provide necessary resources for the village, given its status as one of the Land of Tears' key military assets, war brings strife, famine and pestilence. Thus the village is not doing as well economically as it has in previous generations. In addition to this the village's numbers suffer from near constant attrition, leaving them with far fewer ninja than they once had. However from the constant fighting the village has become battle-hardened. Many of its ninja die in battle, but those that survive grow all the stronger for it. In addition the constant warfare has resulted in a change in ideology. In order to survive the many decades of bloodshed Chi has begun to train it's ninja to suppress mercy and compassion, and the village has gained a reputation for being ruthless in battle. It is said that Chi ninja never cry no matter what tragedy befalls them. The leader of the village is given the title Nikuya (butcher). This title is neither official nor was it in place before the war. The village Leader was simply called the Head Ninja previously. However as the war dragged on, and the methods of Chigakure got more, and more ruthless the opposition began calling Chigakure's head Nikuya in recognition of the blood he shed either by hand or by his command. As time went on the name stuck, and the village adopted it for the fear it inspired in their enemies. Rebels The war within the Land of Tears is between the encumbent ruling bloodline which is descended from Nobutora, the legitimate successor, and the rebels that support the rule of Saikon's bloodline, which was passed over for succession. Before the war had started Saikon had gained a great deal of support in various parts of the country. Nobutora and his family gained the majority of the support as the named successor of Kinjiro. For that matter most of the people and nobility within the capital and a number of other large villages supported Nobutora. However Saikon had gained support of a number of other noble families, and was more popular in much of the countryside, and in the areas of the country that were distant from the capital. As such when the rebellion broke out while Saikon had less overall support than his brother, he did have a force that was strong enough to hold its own against his brother's armies. This has remained true for seventy years. The rebels, or the Truesworn as they call themselves since they believe that Saikon's bloodline were the ones that truly deserved to lead the country, control roughly 43% of the Land of Tears. This is the current territory, and the territory has grown and shrunk many times over the years as tides changed in the war. The territory of the rebels is mostly rural as aversed to the more urban holdings of the loyalists. The rebels possess less wealth and resources than their loyalist counterparts, but make up for this with better understanding of their territory, which contains more wilderness than the loyalist territory. Early on the rebels faced a nearly insurmountable disadvantage. Chigakure, the ninja village sworn to the Land of Tears, had chosen to keep to their oaths of fealty towards the reigning Daimyo, and since Nobutora had been officially named as the successor this meant that they fought for him. Saikon's forces were considerable, but Chigakure fighting on Nobutora's side was a severe disadvantage. As a result the rebels were forced to look for a means to combat the shinobi of Chigakure. This is how the Kurodaitai was created. Saikon reached out to a number of Missing-Nin both inside and outside the country, promising generous pay and sanctuary in return for fighting for his cause. He managed to gain a fair number of ninja under his employ this way. Originally the Kurodaitai was merely a loosely affiliated group of Missing-Nin fighting for Saikon's side in return for pay. However as time went on these ninja got more organized, recruited greater number and with the funds they were given bought quality equipment. Over many years the Kurodaitai went from a disorganized group of ninja mercenaries, to a legitimate Ninja organization with proper leadership, resources and political reach. The Kurodaitai stands in opposition to Chigakure in the war, and the two have become vicious enemies. In both Chigakure and the Kurodaitai one can gain standing via havinga large number of kills from the other side, or proof of a particularly notable kill. While fighting the war is the Kurodaitai's primary objective they do occasionally take jobs outside of the Land of Tears in order to gain funds. This is approved of by the Rebel leadership as it allows them to utilize their wealth elsewhere. The Kurodaitai also reaches out to Missing-Nin. Joining the Kurodaitai has become popular among some Missing-Nin as it provides food shelter and plentiful work. In addition joining the ranks of the Kurodaitai provides a level of protection from pursuers from ones original village. Naturally as a result the Kurodaitai has gained the enmity of a number of ninja villages, and is widely considered an illegitimate organization. While one of the primary motives of the Kurodaitai is money, the rebel leaders have pormised to allow the Kurodaitai to found their own official ninja village that would have an exclusive contract with the Land of Tears once the war is won. This has provided the Kurodaitai with extra motivation to win the war, and wipe out Chigakure once and for all. The Kurodaitai is lead by an individual known as the Rokudenashi (bastard). when the Kurodaitai first got organized the loyalists started calling their leader this as an insult ("The Bastard wiped out our left flank!"). However the Kurodaitai chose to adopt it. Their origins as Missing-Nin meant that they were viewed dishonorably anyway, and thus an honorable title simply wouldn't fit. In addition it was appropriate given that they were officially disowned by their parent villages, and thus the name was very fitting. Category:Country Category:Countries